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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28367025">Thawing the Wasteland</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShyCelt/pseuds/TheShyCelt'>TheShyCelt</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fallout 4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:01:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,705</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28367025</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShyCelt/pseuds/TheShyCelt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Follows the main story of the game, with a few creative liberties with how the quests go and such. Starts just after Kelloggs death. It's a tale of a long and winding road to find Shaun and make the Commonwealth better for everyone, trying not to blow half of it up or wipe out whole races of people in the process.<br/>Chapters are written from each characters point of view - charaters tagged are those who have chapters written so far (not necessarily published yet however)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Nora</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My first time writing anything of any length, happy for some constructive criticism and any kudos.<br/>Chapters are written from each characters point of view - charaters tagged are those who have chapters written so far that are definitly staying in the final edit. I've decided not to included relationship tags as I didn't want to spoil it, there are some twists and turns there too. I've pretty much got the timeline of the whole story set out and have a rough draft of half of it. Not sure how many chapters will be in the final cut though, I seem to delete and add chapters every reread!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cold... So bone chillingly cold. Ice crystals had formed on her eyelashes as she slept. From the gaping hole in the roof the full moon cast a shard of light onto a little fire circle in the middle of the room. It had gone out a few hours ago and the last of its heat now left the dingy room, leaving it barely warmer than the wasteland outside.<br/>
Nora stirred, the cold finally getting to be too much for her. Letting out a groan of displeasure as she tried, and failed, to retreat further into the warmth of her sleeping bag. Dogmeat, who had been keeping guard by the door came padding over to her and nuzzled at her head.<br/>
"Hey boy..."  Nora croaked sleepily, ruffling the fur between the dog's ears as she crawled out of the sleeping bag. "All the central heating in my old world has not prepared me for this has it?"<br/>
The remnants of the nuka cherry she had alongside her meager supper earlier was now half frozen. She sloshed it around in the bottle, "oh a slushie! I wonder if I'll ever enjoy one of those in the summer heat again?" The dog looked at her with that quizzical look he was so good at. Clearly wondering what the hell his friend was talking about.<br/>
Nora smiled at him as she got the small fire going again, using some ancient newspaper, books and bits of furniture she had broken up earlier. Even after spending 2 months living in this new-to-her land, she still hated burning books. And furniture, but mostly books. All those stories and knowledge simply being burned away. It was understandable, sure. People needed fuel for fires more than they needed to know about long extinct animals or how the fellowship defeated the dark lord…<br/>
“Snap out of it Nora!” she grumbled to herself as the fire caught and she sat back on the dusty sofa cushions. Pulling Dogmeat close for a cuddle “No point dwelling on that past is there boy?” The dog let out a whine of agreement and leaned against her, mimicking her staring into the fire. Warmth beginning to wash over the pair Nora began thinking of what she had accomplished in the past 2 months.<br/>
2 months, that was all she had been out that infernal vault for. Some days it felt like the 2 centuries she had been frozen for, other days it felt like 2 weeks. Days seems to move at a strange pace for her in the Commonwealth. The first few days out of the vault she had learned what had happened from Cotsworth, then met Dogmeat. Preston and the others the following day. How she managed to go from a new mum to killer of a rabble of raiders and a massive deathclaw in what to her was 48hrs still shocked her. Emotions caught up with her when she returned back to Sanctuary Hills with the Quincy survivors. She spent the next few days struggling within the whirlpool of emotions, the fear, the worry, the elation at being alive, the guilt that Nate wasn’t, the guilt for having to kill other humans, the total mind fuck that was these mutated creatures that kept attacking her. Preston helped talk her through it. Explained how this new world was working and that people were still mostly good if given the chance. But that raiders were always awful!  It was a tough new world but Nora knew she would do her best to survive it and find Shuan. That was her focus when fighting the abomination that was calling The Castle home when she agreed to retake it for the Minutemen. She wanted Shuan to grow up in a better Commonwealth than what she found herself in now. She poured much of her energy into getting the Minutemen back up and running. Getting settlements up and running, fortifying and reassuring already established settlements that they were not on their own any more. </p>
<p>Only yesterday she found out that Shaun was no longer a baby… He looked to be around 10 years old when she saw him through Kellogg's memories. She would need to speed up her “Revival of the Commonwealth” as Preston has taken to calling her self assigned mission. Maybe she should go speak to that Paladin Danse at the Cambridge Police station. Now the Prydwen had made it’s showy entrance to the area they might make for some powerful allies. Her friends were not too impressed with the Brotherhood of Steel showing up however. Nick was worried, for what seemed obvious reasons. The Brotherhood hated “technology running amok!” and Nick was a walking example of that in their eyes. Even though he was a force of good in most Commonwealth people’s eyes. Deacon had much the same fears as Nick. On their walk back from Fort Hagen he explained how insular and pragmatic the Brotherhood ideals were. Their need for control being high on their to do list anywhere they went. Their xenophobic attitude towards sentient ghouls would also be a problem for her. He also explained they had been rather good for the Capital Wasteland in some respects too. This gave Nora hope that they would be able to work together. She would need to speak with RJ again in Good Neighbor. She had not really spoke to him about the Brotherhood before. But hearing from someone who was not heavily invested in helping one race of people that the Brotherhood did not even classify as people. She needed to hear as many opinions on them as she could.<br/>
The fire spluttered and a spark flew towards her foot, causing her to recoil from it.<br/>
Urgh… she was going to have to face Deacon later. She knew she shouldn’t have ran off like she did, but she couldn’t take it anymore. The revelations that appeared in the memory den from Kellogs mind thing were more than she expected to find. Them, coupled with Nick's sure sounding optimism that they would somehow achieve all that they wanted and Deacon’s light joking, had been too much for her. It was all too much for her. How was she meant to break into a place noone knew where it was, had no front door and was probably filled with highly trained killers, find her 10 year old son who probably wouldn’t even know who she was and then somehow get them both out alive and then what?! Live happily ever after in this deathclaw and radscorpion infested hellhole?! It was too much, so she ran. Ran most of the way to College Square in Cambridge before exhaustion hit her and she struggled up to one of the wrecked apartments to set up camp for the night. She had been through here many times so it was relatively safe to spend the night. Dogmeat had already proven to be a great night watchmen and she was very pleased to have found him following her on her stupid run. She had barely been able to barricade the windows and doors, get a fire going and eat a tin of cram and some potato chips before collapsing in her sleeping bag on the sofa cushions near the fire.<br/>
The fire had now warmed her up nicely so she peered out through the cracks in her pathetic window barricades. Dawn was still a few hours off she guessed, not even a hint of pink on the horizon yet. Now that she thought about it, she guessed Deacon was probably nearby too. He might lie a whole lot and talk total gibberish most of the time but he did seem to care about people. She scanned the roof tops and windows. Then spotted the fresh new whiteness of a rail sign, drawn on a wall near a hole in one of the roofs. Ally. She peered into the blackness, trying to spot him but without a night vision scope it was a fruitless attempt. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t actually have let her run off on her own like that. But she was glad he had decided against following her into this apartment. She needed to be on her own for a bit.<br/>
Feeding the fire a few more table legs she snuggled back down in the sleeping bag, dogmeat curled up in the bag with her for extra warmth. A few hours more sleep and she’d set off for the city again. A plan was forming in her head. The pain of finding out Shaun was older now was still there of course. But he was alive, and that’s what really counted.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Deacon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Deacon replayed the day’s worth of action in his head for what seemed like the hundredth time. Sneaking through Fort Hagen with Nora, killing the squads of gen 1’s and 2’s with ruthless efficiency. He had only teamed up with her for the past month or so, but they had quickly settled into this routine of being “Deadly shadows” when clearing a place out of hostiles. Their fighting styles so in tune with each other that they rarely had to speak or even give hand signals to each other when clearing a building. It had been a long time since Deacon had teamed up with anyone this capable.<br/>
The fight with Kellog was over quicker than he thought it would be. Kellog had been on the Railroads top hit list for decades. But with the two of them, even with his synth body guards, Nora and Deacon made quick work of ending Kellogg. What neither or them expected to find that he had many cybernetic implants. Nora had already experienced what the memory den could do, so they carefully extracted the implant that appeared to be connected to his brain. Hoping Amari might be able to find some useful information on it.<br/>
He was so deep in thought about this when they stepped out onto Fort Hagens roof that it took him a few seconds to take in the massive blimp in the sky blaring out the Brotherhood's arrival. The few hours it took them to walk from Fort Hagen to Good Neighbor was spent mostly discussing the tin can men and women in the blimp. Deacon told Nora as much as he could about them. Not seeing any need to lie about them. He could see the appeal of them for her. He knew she had been part of the armed forces before the bombs. She mentioned that even as a military lawyer, she was still trained in combat and such as other military personnel were. Indeed she had occasionally spoke of her and Nate sparring when they were both home to keep her skills up. Nate was only recently out of active military service when the bombs hit. He did concede to her that the Brotherhood were the closest thing to a military that he knew of. But tried to warn her of them at the same time. He was certain they were not much like the military she knew.<br/>
If the day's activities had ended there it would already have been an action packed day for them. But no… Amari figured out exactly what was needed to peer into Kellogg's mind. So off they went to collect Nick and Amari plugged both Nick and Nora into that vile cybernetic brain. Amari managed to output what they were seeing to a monitor so both herself and Deacon could see it. The four then spoke at length on what they saw and started speculating what now had to be done to get Shaun back and infiltrate the Institute. Until something snapped within Nora and before he could react she was up the stairs and nearly out the door to the Memory Den. Deacon managed to catch up with her before she got out of Good Neighbor. There were tears running down her cheeks, her eyes cycling from furious rage to hurt to frustration and despair. They stared at each other for a minute or so, Nora silently pleading with him to let her go. Deacon didn't know what to do, he muttered something about them staying at the Rexford for the night. They could just relax, maybe go listen to Magnolia for a bit. Nora glared at him and lunged for the gate. He tried to stop her from opening it but was not prepared for her strength. His foot stopped the bottom of the gate from moving, but the force she pulled the handle with snapped the whole thing in two and she flew out the ruined gate, down the street and into the shadows.<br/>
Nick had caught up and was now at his side. Giving him a look that rivaled any worried father. "Go after her, make sure she is safe but give her space. If she doesn't want to talk, don't make her."<br/>
That was all Deacon needed. His internal struggle of what to do toppled in a heap as he bolted out the gate after her. He picked up her trail easily, the dead ferals gave him the direction he needed initially and then he spotted Dogmeat bounding after her up ahead. The dog was much easier to track than she was so Deacon fell in behind. Keeping enough distance that she hopefully wouldn't notice him.<br/>
Now he found himself sitting on a roof in college square keeping watch on her. After seeing how tired she was just climbing the stairs to the shabby apartment he decided she wouldn't be up to talking tonight. So he settled down in an overlooking apartment, with a clear view out over the square. Wondering what had sparked Nora to run off. Was she angry at him for wanting to help get her son back? Did she think he was only helping her to get Institute intel for the Railroad? Was it wrong to suggest Nick goes off to find this Virgil while Nora and he update HQ with the new intel? Or was it something deeper? Something altogether more human? Was it emotional overload?<br/>
It dawned on him then that at no point in the memory den had he tried to comfort her. He wasn't a physically affectionate guy, but he didn't even ask how she felt about seeing her son in those memories. He didn't offer words of comfort to her. Just listed possible next action points and a few jokes. That glare he received as she yanked open the gate of Good Neighbor, that glare was a "too late" glare. He knew now… For decades now Deacon had denied himself from getting too attached to people. Yes he cared about those he worked with, sure he cared. But he was careful to never allow others to think of him as a close friend. An acquaintance, yes. He was happy with that level of relationship. But any closer and he'd risk running himself down that cliff of despair again…<br/>
Try as he might however, he could sense he was growing attached to Nora. She was so easy to be around, she quipped back at him with his silly jokes and obscure pre-bomb references. She knew he was a liar, but somehow she could tell when he was lying or not, or simply not telling the whole story. She didn't seem to mind most of the lies and would even play along with some of them when they were bartering with shopkeepers or at a bar. It became an enjoyable game for them both to play.<br/>
He'd need to decide what to do. Should he leave her? Or should he just go with it for now? Was breaking all contact better for both of them, rather than letting himself become closer than simply work mates?<br/>
He conceded to himself then that Nora and he were already more than acquaintances. Work mates, that wasn't quite friends was it?<br/>
He didn't need to decide now at least. For now, he would at least try to give her the support she needed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Nora</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The tingle of warmth from the sun woke Nora this time. A slither of beautiful early morning sun shine was breaking through the boarded up window and fell on her face. The weak midwinter rays chased away the cold of the night. Pleased at not waking up frozen - Dogmeat had acted like a personal radiator - Nora got up and stretched the stiffness from her body while thinking about what to do for breakfast. Stuffing her sleeping bag into it's pack before storing it in her rucksack she decided the plan of action.<br/>
First stop, Oberland station for breakfast and to check in on them.<br/>
Second, she would head down into the city. She needed a settlement closer to the main towns and the Railroad were also looking for a new safehouse. She remembered a gang of raiders holed up on the outskirts of the old city, just off the esplanade on the south side of the river. That may make a good settlement location.<br/>
After she either scouted or cleaned out the new settlement location she would go find Deacon. She was more sure that he had followed her out here, but she wasn't feeling 100% ready to talk with him yet.<br/>
Depending on the talk with Deacon they could then check in the HQ or spending the rest of the day chilling in Diamond city. She wasn't sure if she wanted a few days rest to digest the Kellogg information, or if she wanted action to deal with it.<br/>
"Come on boy!" She called gently as she opened the apartment door. Time to hit the road, a smile on her face as the winter sun hit her face as they walked through College Square.<br/>
Oberland Station was much the same as it was on her previous visits. The turrets now provide the bulk of defence while the few settlers tended to the mass of tato and carrots that grew so well here. Sam told her over a simple breakfast that the crops were doing well, even better now with the additional water from Graygarden. Raiders had not been seen in the area for a few weeks, the most dangerous problems they had were from ferals and mongrels walking down the old tracks. But the turrets were making easy work out of them. Happy that the settlement was doing well Nora and Dogmeat bid them a good day and started off down to the city. To clear it of some more scum.<br/>
Hangman's Alley, as she decided to call it, was an easily defensible location. Apart from the 3 entrances it was surrounded on all sides by 4 story buildings. It would make a good safehouse for the Railroad and rest point for the Minutemen. The raiders that were here she picked off like she was playing Duck Hunt. Raiders were indeed useless when it came to defence…<br/>
After stripping the now dead raiders of anything of use she dragged them out around the corner into the tunnel that backed on to the alley. This would do for now, they could be burned later.<br/>
"Deacon?!" She called out to the empty street.<br/>
"I'm pretty sure you've been following me… I’m going to make some lunch. Don't make me set Dogmeat on you!"<br/>
Nora made her way back to the camp fire in the alley. Her belly reminded her it was now well past lunchtime.<br/>
"But what if I want furry hugs and slobbery kisses for lunch?" A grinning Deacon rounded the corner. Nora grinned back at him, "I'm sure that can be arranged if sir insists" Just as she heard the tell tale pounding of 4 feet on the dusty ground as the dog ran by her to greet Deacon with the requested hugs and kisses. Smiling at the two idiots Nora chucked some chopped tatos into the pot of water on the fire, alongside some carrots. She started cutting some radstag meat into strips to add to the stew when Deacon sat down next to her.<br/>
This was odd. Deacon always sat across from her. He said it was part of his watching all directions survival strategy. Nora thought it was just as much part of helping him stay detached from people he cared about. She still wasn’t sure why he did that to the extent he did.<br/>
He pulled a small tin from his bag, opened it and added some of the herbs and spices to the stew, giving it a stir when Nora placed the radstag strips in. Popping the pot lid back on he leaned back against the low wall and looked at Nora.<br/>
Ok, time to get talking Nora thought to herself. “I’m sorry I ran off last night. But I am very glad you followed me. Thank you for watching out for me. And… urm… thanks for not forcing me to talk about it”. Suddenly feeling vulnerable Nora turned and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, hugging herself as she gazed into the fire.<br/>
She jumped a little as she felt his hand on her shoulder. “ Do you want to talk about it now?” He asked softly. “I meant what I said before, about it being a long time since I’ve had a partner. I know I’m way out of practise with the non-fighting side of partnering up out here, but I want to help you through this, if I can. If you want me to help?”<br/>
Nora turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, finding herself looking at her own reflection in his sunglasses. Deacons admission about partnering up leaving you vulnerable the last time they had a serious talk like this was swimming around in her head. Partnering up did leave you vulnerable in more ways than one she realised.<br/>
As she stared at her reflection she realised how different she looked from her past life. Two months of wandering this wasteland was enough to lose that bit of extra weight she had put on while being at home with Shaun, firm up muscles that had not been used properly for the best part of a year. She had more lines on her forehead than she remembered, worry lines her mum called them. The vitiligo patch surrounding her left eye and spreading down her neck seemed to stand out more against her skin. Who knew you could get even a hint of a suntan in Boston during the winter! She smiled slightly at this thought, and Deacon gently squeezed her shoulder.<br/>
“You Ok boss?”<br/>
“Yea… I think. I’m not sure what to talk about or where to start to be honest Deacon. But I’m already feeling better just sitting here with you.”<br/>
“I aim to please” Deacon said with a grin and before he could object Nora took the hand that was on her shoulder, scooted back against the wall and pulled his arm around her so she was snuggled up against his side. Her head in the crook of his shoulder.  “Thanks Deacon, I think I need to rest a bit before I talk about it all. Can we talk after we eat?”<br/>
“Sure boss, sure” he half stammered. Clearly not totally comfortable with the sudden closeness but Nora needed to be physically close to someone right now. That safe feeling that a cuddle or just spending time with a friend could give. She was feeling exposed emotionally and needed to shore that up before talking about Kellogg or Shaun again. She wasn’t planning on falling asleep against him but after a while of gazing into the fire and feeling him relax around her she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Deacon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She seemed to be in a more stable mood so far this morning. The walk to Oberland station was pretty uneventful, she was visibly enjoying walking in the early morning sun however. He scouted ahead when he realised where she was headed and picked off a few mole rats that threatened to end her pleasant walk. Pleased with himself when she reached them and he saw her smile. Laughing with the dog about how nice it was for them not to do all the work for a change. She did however take down a radstag just before reaching the settlement. Quickly butchering it and sharing the meat with the 3 settlers here. Deacon hoped that she had left some decent meat on the felled animal. He had eaten most of his emergency rations last night and this morning. It would be easier if he could simply steal from her hunt than go hunting for himself. To his dismay she had left little on the radstag. He bagged up a few ribs that still had some meat clinging to them. He could make a decent soup with them he supposed.<br/>
He watched from the rooftops as she cleared the alley of raiders. It was spectacular in his opinion. Like watching a true master craftsman at work. She used a stealth boy to place a mine at the door near the tunnel. Then backed off before using her loudest gun to shoot the door. Raiders, being such predictable creatures , opened the door to see what the noise was and walked straight into the mine. Others then followed and she picked them off using her silenced pistol, Deliverer,  from her position on the escape railing of a nearby building. It was a bit too long range for Deliverer he thought, but her pinpoint accuracy seemed to make up for the drop off in power. Dogmeat provided the distraction she needed so any raiders who were smart enough to realise what was going on were drawn to the crazy mutt. These were also met with a quick death from Deliverer and she ruffled Dogmeats fur in thanks when all the raiders were dead.<br/>
He didn’t have to fire a bullet during the whole event. He wondered if this is why so many people used to watch tv back before the bombs fell. This feeling of wonderment at watching someone else do something difficult with such skill and ease.<br/>
He almost dropped down from his rooftop to help her clear the bodies, but decided against it. He wasn’t close enough to fully get a picture of how she was looking. If she would be pleased or annoyed to see him there.<br/>
He nearly had a heart attack when she called out his name in an almost casual manner. Like she was calling her child in for dinner. She had given no sign that she was aware he was following her. He plastered a grin on his face to hide the nervousness he was feeling as he rounded the corner and walked through the open door into the alley. And there she was, sitting with her back to him in front of a fire, as she prepared lunch and absently hummed a tune to herself. Dogmeat had been watching the entrance behind her and at the sound of his voice he came running towards him, tongue lolling out of his mouth and frantic happy noises coming out of him. Deacon had quickly fallen in love with this mutt. Smarter than any previous dog he had met and seemingly indestructible. His constant happy and fun loving attitude made up for his terrible attempts at stealth.<br/>
He wandered over to the fire after greeting the dog, letting the mutt go back to watch duty. He glanced at the old cushions across the fire from Nora, but decided on the one beside her for a change. This alley was easily defendable, and he had placed some mines at the far end when he descended from the rooftops. He could afford to place more focus on her right now than constant surveillance.<br/>
As he sat he swung his pack around and pulled out the little tin of seasoning. He has spent years experimenting on how to easily make food taste better with little effort. This was his “secret sauce” for an easily enjoyable meal. Once Nora added the meat to the stew he sat back against the wall, deciding how best to approach the required conversations. He watched her, picking up how tired her eyes looked when she apologised for running off, the way she held herself seemed like she was carrying more weight than she actually was. He decided then the hard conversations could wait. They were safe, Kellogg was dead. Nothing had to be done imminently. He noticed the shadow of a smile when she actually thanked him for following her though, and that brought an unexpected warmth to his chest. He put a hand on her shoulder, hoping it was a reassuring gesture. Then spoke in what he hoped was a calm and reassuring voice, he was normally pretty good at controlling his voice to convey different emotions. But it seemed harder this time, this was more than just manipulating someone, he genuinely wanted to reassure her that he wanted to help. She stared into his glasses for a time that many others would be uncomfortable with. Deacon however, hidden behind his glasses, wondered what she was thinking. Was she searching him to decide something? Was she annoyed that she couldn't look him in the eye? He tensed slightly at that thought. He knew his eyes gave away his feelings too much, he couldn't risk that just now. He sucked in a breath when she took his hand off her shoulder and snuggled up against him. Only releasing it when he agreed to talk after they had eaten. He forced himself to relax, controlling his breathing. In and out… nice and slow. Matching his breathing to hers, which he felt so clearly now her breath was brushing across him and onto his left arm. After a few minutes she appeared to be asleep. Deacon let his mind wander to those daft stories he used to read in scavenged books. How two folk forced together always seemed to end up together forever in an easy and love filled relationship. He was under no illusion that he would ever be a shining knight and she was a damsel in distress. She was just as likely to save him from trouble as he was to save her. If he was honest with himself he found the strong and able types far more attractive than the conventional beauty of damsels in distress. Maybe that’s why he was pathetically failing at keeping an emotional distance between himself and Nora. Not only was she good looking in ways wastelanders couldn’t compare to, she was strong and more than capable of looking after herself. She wasn’t the usual hot headed and shouty women that the Commonwealth seemed to churn out. She kept a level head most of the time and although was prone to bouts of passionate outbursts on occasion, she used them effectively to get her point across in conversations with locals and leaders alike. He mused what they would be like together, traveling around taking care of her many Minutemen settlements. Maybe settle down in one of them themselves if they ended up having kids… Teaching them the ways of the wastelands and the good parts of life before the bombs. He smiled and closed his eyes, happy in this little make believe world that would never come into existence.<br/>
The rattling pot lid interrupted his dreamy thoughts. He carefully reached for his rifle and tried using the barrel to knock the lid off the pot. He failed the first time and nearly dropped the rifle on Nora's head. The second time he managed it, however the lid made an almighty twang when it hit the ground and he groaned with annoyance.<br/>
" ….mmm… soup ready now?" Nora half yawned at him.<br/>
"Not yet, go back to sleep" and gently pulled her close to him again.<br/>
"Mmm 'k" sleepy Nora muttered as she drifted back off to dreamland.<br/>
Deacon noticed that the dog had been looking quizzically at him the whole time. As if he only had to ask him to remove the pot lid and he wouldn't have had to resort to using a rifle as a pot lid fishing rod thing.<br/>
Deacon childishly stuck his tongue out at the mutt. "Stop being so smart you. I am allowed to comfort her too you know" he quietly stated at the dog, but most it reinforced that this was indeed "allowed behaviour" now in his rule book when it came to Nora.<br/>
Deacon let her sleep for another 20min or so to give the stew enough time to cook then roused her. Reaching into his pack for two bowls and spoons for them both he watched Nora carefully out the corner of his eye. She looked refreshed after her nap. Good, he thought, he didn't like her being exhausted, she was grouchy enough when tired!<br/>
They both ate greedily, it had been too long since breakfast for both of them.<br/>
"Do you like children Deacon? "  Nora questioned suddenly.<br/>
Deacon nearly spat out the last of his stew as he looked at her.<br/>
"What?!? Oh, your being serious… Well yea, I guess I don't mind kids. Why do you ask? "<br/>
"I want to make the 'wealth a better place. And I figure that many of the current issues could be mitigated by teaching kids how to do things, and how to think for themselves. To open their minds and be accepting of others rather than to first fear and challenge others. To live rather than simply survive. I think I want to bring back schools I guess. What do you think?"<br/>
Deacon though for a bit as he pushed a mushy tato around his bowl.<br/>
"I can't see that doing anything but good to be honest. The kids who have grown up going to school in DC all seem to do well for themselves. The main issue will be getting teachers though. What's the plan for that?"<br/>
"I'm hoping of getting people willing and able to teach basic reading, writing and maths in all my bigger settlements soon. Encourage the settlements to run lessons for a few hours each day to any who want to learn."<br/>
"That sounds like teaching more than just kids" Deacon interjected. Placing his bowl at his feet now he was finished.<br/>
"Well yes, I guess I need to acknowledge that many adults can now not read and write so it would feel wrong not to give them the opportunity to learn. How did you learn? You appear to read and write as well as anyone from my time."<br/>
"As a kid I was curious, so I learned." He shrugged and tried to bluff his way through it. Slightly embarrassed that she has noticed this trait of his.<br/>
"You read a whole lot better than RJ or John Hancock  Deacon don't sell yourself short. As for writing, yours is nearly calligraphy standards! Even vocabulary has reduced. RJ is always asking me what words I say mean. You hardly ever do. Piper frequently asks me what words and phrases mean when she cannot work them out herself. Or are you just pretending you know what I'm talking about? " Nora looked at him with a mischievous smile on her lips. Like a kid trying to prove their teacher wrong.<br/>
Deacon laughed and leaned against the wall again. "You are aware I'm older than I look, right?"<br/>
"So you've said, what's your point?"<br/>
"I've read a whole lot more books than McCready and Hancock combined. And thats including the stupid comic books the kid reads that are more pictures than words. The more you read the more you learn. I love a good book I do. "<br/>
"But someone must have taught you the basics, what was it like?"<br/>
Deacon sighed… he wasn't going to be able to dodge this any more. What harm would letting her know a little of his past do?  "My uncle taught me to read and write. Along with this ancient lady who stayed near us. She also taught me some maths"<br/>
"So not a formal education like school in DC? Just adhoc. Did they have text books for you or did they hand write things for you?"<br/>
"I had textbooks, but that's rare now Nora. I know most folk simply use what books or magazines are available to teach their kids. Maybe collect some pencils and paper and get a bit more creative. Some schools have the holotapes that McCready had but that's about it. Why are you so interested in this in particular anyways?"<br/>
"Oh… urm… " Nora looked sheepishly all of a sudden. "I think you'd make a great teacher. For many things really but certainly for reading and writing."<br/>
Deacons had to just about pick his jaw up off the floor. "You want to turn this top notch spy, master of the shadows and man of superior dress sense into a boring old English teacher?!?" Deacon had got to his feet while talking as was now strutting around the fire in mock disgust. Nora giggling at him " You're right my Lord Spy. How dense of me, how about principal of drama then? "<br/>
"That's more like it! I'll teach my kids to extort more caps from deals through wit and charm! " Deacon winked at her and flashed a cheesy smile. "So set up schools, what's next on the to do list? " He asked in a more serious but still light hearted tone as he sat back down beside her. Giving her an easy chance to change the subject if she wanted too.<br/>
Nora sighed and fished out a bottle of nuka cola from her pack. Twisted the cap off and took a long drink before handing it to Deacon.<br/>
"I need to speak to both Preston and Dez about heading into the Glowing Sea to find Virgil. I also want to quiz RJ on the Brotherhood too. I know yours and Nick's views on them, but I want to hear as many opinions in them as I can before I meet them. "<br/>
Deacon took a swig from the bottle, now wishing it was something stronger. "As much as I hate to say it. The Brotherhood might be the safest way to get in and out of that infested sea quickly. But how they will react to seeing an Institute scientist I don't know. I'd be wary about even telling them about him before we decide on what to do. "<br/>
"Thanks for being honest Deacon. I know you don't like them but it makes me happy you can be pragmatic at least when it comes to their uses" Nora smiled at him. Warm and full of feeling. Her eyes had lost the exhausted look from earlier and were now back to being bright and full of hope. He loved how expressive her eyes were. And felt he could easily spend hours looking into their gray-greenish tones. But that would be totally creepy he knew, so he stole these moments when the ambient light made her eyes shine like multi colored jewels. Tried to burn the images into his head for later.<br/>
"Earth to Deacon! Earth to Deacon!" Nora called with a giggle. Whoops… he needed to stop doing that. "Sorry boss! Shall we pack up and head for HQ then? "<br/>
"Actually, I've got another question I wanted to ask you…" Nora looked a bit uncomfortable now, that had Deacon on edge. "Do people still celebrate Christmas? "<br/>
Deacon almost cheered with joy at such a simple question. "Change of plans then. We'll stay in Diamond City tonight? You wanted to see about buying the house there anyways didn't you? "<br/>
"Urm… yea I did. Does this mean Christmas is still a thing then? " Nora replied, the hope clear in her voice at the end.<br/>
"Not to the same scale as you are probably used too, but DC does put up decorations and people generally get together for a big communal meal and some drinks. Presents generally aren't a thing any more, although some families use the occasion to pass down heirlooms and such." Deacon couldn't help but grin at the happiness that spread on Nora's face as he spoke. It filled him with warmth better than the now smoldering fire ever had.<br/>
"Sorted then! Let's get to DC. I want to sleep in a real bed tonight." Nora quickly collected her things, backpack on, rifle slung over the top of it and she checked Deliverer was clear in it's hoster on her left thigh.  Deacon's nervousness from earlier had all but vanished. He had managed to get her to have a few days down time with no arguments. Aside from their few days spent healing injuries after the Castle assault she had been non stop since stepping out of the vault. It was no real surprise that her emotions finally broke, was it?<br/>
Deacon kicked some earth over the fire to extinguish it and picked up his own pack and rifle and they headed for the city.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Nora</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I'll catch up in a few minutes" Deacon muttered as he darted off down a side street a few blocks from DC. Nora shook her head in amusement. If she didn't know better she would have said that man was making up for being deprived of dressing up games as a child. She didn't fully understand how he got away with dressing as a city guard, but she could see how useful it could be for collecting information. Noone really took any notice of the guards within the old Fenway park stadium. They blended into the background, which was exactly a Deacon thing. <br/>As the big green gate came into view Deacon reappeared at her side. Dogmeat sniffed his shin guard curiously before bounding up to greet a real DC guard further ahead. Deacon gave the guard a wave of acknowledgement as Nora shouted a hello at him. <br/>Diamond city. The smell of it hit her as she reached the top of the stairs, the mix of noodles and seared meat with the undertones of sweet and stale alcohol, the forever present rusty metal smell that was so common everywhere now. The chemical tang of the surgery center cut in sharply as the wind gusted towards her, trapped as it was in the stadium walls and now rushing for the exit. This smell was so alien to her once, but was quickly becoming a comforting smell. A smell of safety. <br/>"I'm going to go see the Mayor about the house first, do you want to come? " Nora asked Deacon. <br/>"I've got a few folk to check up on, meet you later when you have the keys? I'll help you get settled in?" <br/>"Sure thing Deek, go catch all the baddies" she winked at him as she headed for the elevator that would take her to the mayors office high above them. She watches Deacon as the lift carries her up. Always surprised at how much he assumed his different disguises. In the guard uniform he held himself differently, strutted around like he owned the place and this was all his show. Then at other times you could hardly notice him leaning against a wall in the corner, listening and watching everything around him. It was impressive, she thought. Absently scratching Dogmeat's head as the dog leaned against her leg. <br/>The lift judered to a halt and she waltzed into the office to buy her house. <br/>A mere hour later Nora was now a house owner again. Oh how times have changed she thought! It took months to buy her old house in Sanctuary Hills. <br/>She turned the key in the lock and opened the rusty door to her new house. It was drab inside, but that could be sorted. It already had working plumbing, a serviceable bathroom and kitchen area, a small double bed and a dusty old sofa. It would do for now she guessed. Maybe soon she could spend a few days getting it all clean and homely. For now, she just wanted to rest. She deposited her things in the large chest by the bed, keeping Deliverer strapped to her thigh then exiting the little house to collect supplies. First she went to Fallon's basement, she wanted some more casual clothes and soft furnishings for this house, cushions and bed clothes for a bigger bed, some rugs and a whole heap of towels for that working shower. She described the things she was looking for and Fallon's said they would need to get some of them transferred to her as they didn't keep them in stock within the city. She did however find some casual clothes that would fit with some little adjustments, a lovely warm blanket and a few fluffy towels. She also picked up various colourful threads and some waxed black leather tongs for a little project that popped into her head when she saw them.<br/>As she came up the stairs from Fallons she noticed Deacon was at her door, crates of things stacked at his feet. She crossed the market to him and he indicated to the crates. "I'm cooking tomorrow. I heard you have a kitchen in there? " He nodded at the door. <br/>"Ooo that's making me wish it was Christmas every day!" She squealed as she unlocked the door for him, eyeing up the goodies in the creates. “You found Nuka Cherry! Yay!"<br/>She swung the door open and let Deacon into the little house. “Nice little place, working plumbing too, that’s handy!”  <br/>“A working bathroom and shower!!” Nora couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice at that. A good shower was something she missed terribly. Deacon knew fine well her love of showers and laughed at her, shaking his head slightly. “Well why don’t you go inspect the shower and I’ll unpack all this stuff. Maybe get started on things for tomorrow”.   <br/>“Sounds like a plan Master Chef, you can tell me what needs to be replaced in the kitchen too!” Nora happily chimed as she deposited most of her bundle from Fallon’s on the couch and plucked a towel from the pile. <br/>The shower was better than she hoped, it was powerful, by wasteland standards, and oh so warm. She scrubbed the dust and grime off her body, inspecting the now thin and faint scars on her right arm from where a stupid mirelurk nearly ripped her arm off during the assault on the Castle. She was pleased the scars were not as noticeable now, it looked horrific for days afterwards. Stim’s were good, but with large open wounds they were simply not enough on their own. A few days of rest, stitches and keeping it clean alongside regular stim injections had done the trick. She was happy she got to spend those days with Deacon. He crushed his leg badly falling from one of the walls during the fight and that needed time to heal too. They spent the days reading the books they had found in the castle to each other, talking a bit about themselves and eventually dozing off in the comfortable silence that would fall between them. Deacon had revealed that he wasn't normally a fan of partnering up on jobs, but he was enjoying it with Nora. That pleased her immensely, she enjoyed working with him and had found it easy to trust him during firefights. His style was similar to her own, so they worked very well as a team. His outlook on life was similar too, although he was much more guarded with his thoughts and himself as a whole. They both enjoyed the little things in life when they could. She rinsed off the soap from her hair and turned off the shower. Toweling herself dry before changing into some jeans and a warm hoodie she had found. She pocketed the colorful threads and leather she had bought too.  She returned to the living area to find Deacon in full swing of cooking up a feast. Half singing along to the songs on the radio that was blaring out DC radio. He had shed the guard uniform and now wore the jeans and tshirt he normally wore at the railroad’s HQ. She still had no idea how he managed that as she didn’t spot any clothes in the crates he had brought in. This man was a mystery in more ways than one…She leaned against the doorway and watched him. He seemed more relaxed than she had ever seen him out of HQ. He moved with fluid motions as he expertly trimmed radstag meat and diced it up, adding it to a large dish that already contained some tatos and corn. Swiftly stirring another pot that was starting to bubble over on the stove and turning down the heat on it.  She had seen him wear many desigues in the month or so that she had been traveling with him, but this Deacon in front of her seemed to be more actual Deacon than desigue in her mind. Part of her training as a lawyer was in how to read people. Reading their body language, recognising how their muscles moved differently when under stress or pain, listening to the tone of their voice rather than just the words they were saying. It was a skill she had enjoyed learning as a lawyer and was infinitely useful in this new world she found herself in. Deacon's desigues could fool so many people because he understood the desigue was more than just the clothes he wore. He had learned to control his muscles to look like he was in pain or distress as the role required, to change the tone of his voice to convey the emotions he wanted to get across. He was a master at it. <br/>“You finished daydreaming yet missy?” Deacon called, a cheeky grin on his face.<br/>“You caught me! I was thinking I need to find you a chefs hat, one of those big tall ones” Nora walked over to the kitchen counter that served as a sort of room divider and looked over the dishes of food he was preparing. “Wanna help?” he asked as he casually threw some chopped carrots into the now gently bubbling pot. <br/>“I was thinking of using that armour bench outside to modify some bits…Might drop in and say hi to Travis too. I found some old music holo’s in Sanctuary that I think would be good for the radio” Nora wasn’t a particularly good cook. Years of service life and long months of study when she was home meant she would usually get takeaways rather than cook. She had only really started to learn to cook properly from Cotsworth since she was on maternity leave with Shaun. She still wasn’t comfortable cooking for other people…  <br/>“Sounds good, could you give this note to Travis please?” Deacon passed her the folded note that had Travis written on the outside in his stunning handwriting. “Oo got me passing your secret love notes now have you?! Does this mean I’ve graduated up the Railroad tree?” She teased him. Deacon sorted in response. <br/>“Read it if you want to. It’s about tomorrow. No lovey dovey stuff at all” Deacon stuck his tongue out at her and continued with his trimming off the fat on the deathclaw steaks now in front of him. <br/>Nora unfolded the note, and was greeted with more of Deacon's fantastic handwriting. </p>
<p>Hi Travis, as tomorrow is the 25th of December I want to throw a little Christmas party in the Market place in Diamond City. Can you read this little note out on the radio so people know please? </p>
<p>“Hello residents of Diamond City and beyond. Nora would like to invite you to a little Christmas get together in DC Marketplace tomorrow from 6pm till late. There will be a buffet of food, music, games and dancing. Please bring your own drinks though!” <br/>Thanks, <br/>Nora</p>
<p>“You signed it from me?!” Nora exclaimed.<br/>“Of course I did. Who would show up if me, the creepy dude who hangs out in the shadows all the time, invited the city out for drinks? They love you, so they will show up.” <br/>“You mean they will show up for the free food” Nora joked.   <br/>“Well yes.. That is an incentive. Now if you're not going to help with the cooking, go, you're taking up space! ” Laughing as Deacon motioned at shooing her out of her own house she rummaged around her pack for the music to give to Travis and left him surrounded by clouds of steam. <br/>Travis was surprised but happy to see her, and his face lit up with delight when she handed over the music to him. He read over the note and agreed he would read it out every so often, so everyone would know by tomorrow. <br/>“You better come too Travis, stick the radio on autoplay for a few hours and come eat dinner with us at least.” Nora told him. She liked Travis but he was prone to staying stuck in his radio shack and she worried he would revert to the timid and scared Travis she had first met.<br/>After getting Travis to promise to show up tomorrow she headed for the armour bench to start on her little project. She understood presents were not a thing for Christmas any more, but she wanted to give Deacon something. He had been a rock for her during many trials this world had already thrown at her, she wanted to give him something that showed her thanks. <br/>She straightened out shiny colourful threads and selected three colours - silver, emerald green and copper. These were the most numerous of the lot and they were also colours she thought Deacon would like. She bunched them together before tying them off in a neat and tight knot at the top, separated the bunch into two, she started twisting both bunches until eventually she had made a small rope. She burned the ends together to stop it from unraveling. Once this stage was complete she took three lengths of leather and tied the four strands in a decorative knot at the top. Then started winding them together to create her 4 braided cord. Once into the rhythm of it her mind wandered back to her childhood, of creating these together with her friends. She had made one for Shuan recently too, well 210 years ago she supposed, but recently in her mind. His was made from blue, white and red silk ribbon and it had been in her pocket the morning they entered the vault. She had been trying to get him to stop crying by waving it in front of his face… It was a quick way to make his crying turn into laughter. On exiting the vault she had taken to wearing it around her wrist, but after the mirelurk incident it was now wrapped around the holster for Deliverer. A little reminder of her lost life. <br/>She finished off the braid and looked at it, happy with the result. The coloured threads were not as thick and also more forgiving than leather so they moulded around and dipped through the leather in ways she did not expect. The end result of a thread of light dipping and diving into and out of the shadowy leather was pleasing, and definitely suited Deacon she thought. She pocketed her creation and returned to the house.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Deacon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Deacon looked up as the door opened and Nora walked back in. He was tidying up the small kitchen after putting the last tray of food in the oven. It would take a few hours for everything to cook the way he wanted it to. He missed having a large kitchen with space to spread out. But he had enjoyed his afternoon cooking and was now looking forward to whatever Nora wanted to do this evening. <br/>“Mmmm…. That smells delicious already, Deek!” Nora said as she used her hands to waft the smell towards her. She was pretty easy to please in the kitchen Deacon thought to himself. “Won’t be ready for a few hours, then we can sample some for dinner before everyone else gets it tomorrow. Unless you had other plans?” <br/>“Nope, that sounds ideal! “ Nora said as she flopped down on the sofa. “ I was thinking we could just chill out tonight, maybe a few drinks and play some board games or read? I think I could do with an early night” Good he thought, she realises she needs to rest too. <br/>“That suits me just fine.” Deacon agreed as he wiped down the sink and threw the now dirty cloth into the shopping basket in the little alcove off the kitchen he was using as a washing basket. He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of Nuka Cherry and wandered over to Nora, leaning over the back of the couch to place the now cold bottle against the back of her neck.<br/>“Owww!!! That’s cold!! “ She jumped up in surprise. “Why.. how is this cold?!”<br/>“I fixed the fridge before I started cooking” He winked at her. “No idea how long the fix will last but it should keep the drinks cold and the food fresh till tomorrow at least.” He loved the surprised and impressed look on her face right now. He would need to look into a long term fix for the fridge, it was very handy to be able to keep food fresh for longer, especially during the long warm summers the Commonwealth had. “I’m going to go check out that shower. Pick a game for us to play?“ and with that he left her, still dazed from the fact she had an ice cold drink in her hands in a house that was now cozy and warm from all the cooking. <br/>The shower was more than welcome for Deacon. He hated the grime that clung to everything in the wastelands. He treated it almost like radiation itself. Scrubbing his skin so much he was leaving red marks on himself. The shower eased muscles that had been complaining to him all day about him sleeping in a deck chair last night. When he got out he caught himself in the unusually large mirror fixed to the back of the door. He looked to be in his late-30’s or early 40’s, he was well toned from years of wandering the wastes but not overly muscled like those Brotherhood tin cans. Small scars criss crossed his body, some from fights and battles, others from surgery. The most obvious were the most recent. Three long scars on his right leg, the biggest stretching from ankle to the middle of his thigh in a wonky line. He had pushed some young Minutemen out of a raging mirelurks path and lost his footing on a loose boulder, falling some 20ft from the Castle walls and landing badly on his own leg on top of a sharp bit of topped wall. Thankfully the battle was nearly over at this point so he was able to simply sit there for the remainder and take long shots at the lurks. Didn’t make him feel any less stupid at having the spend a few days recoving. At least he had been able to keep Nora company during that time without her feeling guilty about keeping him stuck in the same place for more than a day. She had gotten it into her head that he didn’t like being in one place for too long. He still hadn’t found the right way to explain that he simply didn’t like being around people he didn’t know. He could spend months living in a little cabin in the woods, miles from anyone else and he would be happy. But sleeping in shacks so close together that you could hear random people snoring… na, that was too close for his linking. The shacks most settlers built gave a false impression of privacy in Deacons opinion. He toweled himself off, pausing to look at his face in the mirror. There were few scars here. He liked to keep his face free of scars, they were too distinctive. His clear, pale blue eyes stared back at him. These betrayed his true age he thought. They had seen too much, they couldn’t hide what they had seen and wanted to unsee in all the years he had wandered these wastes. They betrayed what he had lost and what he feared to ever lose again.  He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, reaching for his glasses. He only breathed out again when he slipped them back on his face. Hidden behind his glasses and with a fresh shirt and jeans on Deacon rejoined Nora in the living room.  Dogmeat had made himself a little bed in the corner with some old blankets, always alert he was looking at the front door but gave Deacon a glance and whine of acknowledgement as he entered the room. As he expected, Nora had the little travel chess set they had found a few weeks ago open and set up on the table. A bottle of wine sat on the table beside it. Nora herself was lying stretched out on her back on the couch, a book held in both her outstretched hands above her. How she could read comfortably like that was beyond him. He shook his head slowly and checked on the food in the oven, testing a few bits of meat in the top tray with a fork. This one was ready he deemed. “Hungry ?” He asked of Nora. <br/>“Starving!” was the response as the book snapped shut and she got up to collect plates and cutlery for them. Deacon had made them “Mixed wasteland roast” as he liked to call it. There were Radstag strips, molerat chunks and deathclaw kebabs, all dry seasoned with Deacon's special herbs mix. Also in the baking tray were hollowed out tatos filled with brahim cheese and finely chopped gourd and a sprinkling of nuts on top along with corn cobs. <br/>He plated up a helping of the meats, two filled tatos and a couple of corn cobs each - coating the corn with brahim butter first and drizzling some warmed honey over the filled tatos. “Do you want gravy with this or are you happy with it dry for now? I’ll make gravy for tomorrow but it doesn’t really keep…” He trailed off as he looked up and saw Nora staring at the food, eyes wide and a look that was full of shock and wonderment. <br/>“How…. How have you managed to make this amazing food from the scary and creepy stuff that exists here?!” she stammered. Deacon passed her a plate and smiled at her as he grabbed two bottles of water to go with dinner. <br/>“You haven't tasted it yet. You might not like it. You could always ship Cotsworth down here to cook for you, you know.” He shrugged in a noncommittal way, like he really never wanted to have to cook for her again. That was a lie he knew she would never go for. He had spotted her earlier watching him cook, he knew she now knew how much he enjoyed it.<br/>“I’ve spent the last 30min salivating over the smell of this food Deek, I know I’m going to love it” Nora assured him with a grin and started to eat. Watching her enjoy the food he made was pure soul food to Deacon. She was full of praise, happy moans escaping her mouth as the various flavours hit her taste buds. It all made Deacon feel happier than he had in a long time. After dinner they opened the wine and played some chess. It was a game Nora loved, Deacon could play but wasn’t terribly good at it. He got distracted by Nora softly singing some sort of sad love song he vaguely recognised and lost his queen to her. After that she decimated his forces with ease and the game only lasted about an hour. Nora yawned and stretched her hands in the air. “You are getting better but you just couldn’t get over losing your queen” she reflected on their match. <br/>“It’s a hard thing, losing your queen you know.” Deacon muttered as he packed the game away. He wasn’t really in the mood for playing another round. He got up and checked on the rest of the food in the oven, It looked good so he started pulling it all out to cool so he could put it all in the fridge before he went to sleep later on. “Have you found any good books in that box you found?” He asked hopefully. He had finished the book he had borrowed from her house in Sanctuary so was needing a new one. <br/>“Actually yes, have you read Beowulf before? Or To Kill a Mockingbird? You’ve already read The Art of War and Animal Farm haven't you?” Nora quickly picked up the four titles she had stacked on the floor next to the table. Deacon caught how she pronounced Beowulf, that poem had annoyed him for months when he read it years ago as he didn’t know exactly what the marks above and below various letters meant. He knew it was something to do with pronunciation, but couldn't find any more information about it. It frustrated him.  <br/>“Beowulf is that really long poem with many character names I don’t know how to pronounce isn’t it? And yes I’ve read Art of War. The other two, no, I don’t think I’ve read them. What would you suggest?”<br/>“Well I’d like to reread Animal farm if you don’t mind? It’s short so I’ll finish it before you finish Mockingbird I reckon. That’s a book I read when becoming a lawyer, I think you’ll enjoy it. You can read Animal farm afterwards” Nora drained her wine from the cup and lay back down on the couch, cuddling the book to her chest. “Do you want a hand putting all that in the fridge?” <br/>“Nope, it needs to cool first” Deacon replied simply as he placed the last tray of food on the counter. He covered them by stretching a clean towel between two saucepans at each end of the counter and slid the food trays under it. It wasn’t great but would keep most things off the food while it cooled. He came back to the living area, picking up his new book from the table and looked down at Nora. She had her eyes closed, looking peaceful and at ease. If he had known good food and some wine was all it took to get her to relax he would have done this weeks ago. He picked up the blanket she had bought from Fallon’s earlier. Now the oven was off the temperature would start dropping in the room. He knew it wouldn’t get properly cold due to the way the city worked and the close proximity of other buildings. But he would rather she stayed warm and cozy. He nudged her shoulder with his knee, “come on you, budge up. I want to be comfy too you know” Her sparkling eyes opened and she smiled up at him, swinging her legs to the floor as she sat up. Deacon sat down at the end of the sofa and was just about to throw the blanket at her when she swung her legs over the other end of the couch and used his lap as a pillow for her head. He looked down at her. He hadn’t failed to notice she seemed to like being physically close to him since running off. It scared him. He wasn’t sure if he should encourage it or not. “Well are you going to share the blanket or not?” Her question brought him back from his panic. “Sure.. sure” he muttered and draped the blanket across her. Took a long drink of wine and started on his new book.<br/>A few hours later he stopped at the end of a thought provoking chapter and noticed Nora had fallen asleep. He smiled and then grinned to himself when he noticed Dogmeat had come over and was now laying under his outstretched legs, also asleep. If you had told him weeks ago he would be sitting in a cozy living room on christmas eve with the smell of awesome food all around, a good book, wine and a dog at his feet along with a beautiful woman asleep beside him he would have asked what chem’s you had been taking. He enjoyed the moment for a while until he noticed the time on Nora’s Pipboy that was sitting on the table where she left it. 2230. Yea, sleep time Deacon decided. He gently nudged Dogmeat with his heel to wake him. The dog woke and looked up at him with big sad eyes. “I just need you to move for a minute boy, then you can go back to sleep” he pleaded with the dog quietly. The dog obliged and moved from under his legs, allowing Deacon to carefully slide from under Nora’s head, which he supported with a hand. He knelt, scooped her into his arms in one fluid motion and stood up. She stirred in her sleep, nuzzling into his shoulder and muttering something. He waited until she was still again and then put her to bed, leaving the blanket with her. He returned to the kitchen, quickly and quietly put all the food in the fridge before stretching out on the couch to get some sleep. He had just settled down and closed his eyes when he felt the furry snout of a dog at his face. He opened his eyes and met the dogs…”ok fine, but if you snore you’re back on the floor, got it?” The dog was too smart for his own good Deacon decided as the mutt climbed up and settled beside him. His furry head resting on Deacon’s chest. Deacon fell asleep quickly, his hands instinctively winding through the dogs soft and comforting fur.</p>
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